Thursday, March 20, 2008

Thought for the Day

The last few days I've been thinking a lot. This usually gets me in trouble, but against my better judgment I kept it up. I started thinking about sin and why I continue to fail to meet God's standard set before the world in His perfect son, Jesus. Thats when I realized that deep in the recess of every heart lies an unspeakable evil. In the heart of each man, woman, and child lies the same evil that drives thieves to steal, robbers to rob, rapists to rape, and killers to kill. The sin in your hearts that causes you to curse when someone cuts you off in traffic or lie to cover your tail is the same exact sin, the same exact evil, that convinced Hitler to murder millions of Jews and Bundy to brutally slay dozens of young girls. We are born with this evil monster inside our hearts. This blood thirsty beast causes us to be incapable of any genuine love. Left to ourselves, we have proven that we don't need anyone's help to make this world a more terrible place than it already is.

But there is a way, one way, to tame the monster that resides within us. His name is Jesus Christ. You see, God is perfect and cannot allow our evil souls to enter His presence without us accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. When Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago, He shed his blood, bridging the gap between sinful humanity and the perfect, almighty God. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart the God raised him from the dead 3 days after his execution you will be saved! By doing this you accept the Lord as your Savior. Because of the death of Jesus, we no longer have to pay for our sins with our death. Jesus paid it for us!

Every time I think about the penalty I deserve to pay and the fact that I don't have to pay that penalty because Christ already paid it blows me away. Jesus died for you and me even though we're the ones who put him on the cross. We're the ones who beat him mercilessly, spit in his face, pressed the crown of thorns onto his brow, called him names, and mocked him even as he died. Think about that. Don't you understand the kind of death YOU deserve? You deserve to have your flesh split open, your blood flow like a fountain, and to die the same way Jesus did.

You have two choices: 1) Pay the penalty yourself with an eternity in Hell, or 2) Accept the gift of the death and resurrection of Jesus and allow him to pay the penalty for you. You decide.